First auto supplier plans layoffs related to UAW strike

A contract manufacturing supplier is planning to lay off 293 employees in Shiawassee and Lapeer counties, north of Detroit, due to the UAW strike against the Detroit 3 automakers, signaling the first supplier to detail its layoff plans to the state since the union walkout began Friday.

CIE Newcor, a subsidiary of CIE Automotive in Spain, said it tentatively anticipates a one-month layoff starting Oct. 2, according to a WARN notice filed with the state Thursday, just hours ahead of the UAW calling a strike at a trio of auto plants.

The impacted jobs include mostly machine operators at four company plants: CIE Newcorp and Machine Tool & Gear Inc. Plant 1 in Corunna, as well as Machine Tool & Gear Inc. Plant 2 in Owosso. Each is about 90 miles northwest of Detroit. Rochester Gear in Clifford, about 80 miles north of Detroit, is also impacted.

The plants could close indefinitely depending on how long the strike lasts, according to the WARN notice. Impacted employees are not represented by a union.

CIE, a Tier 1 and Tier 2 supplier, will certainly not be the only company to file a layoff notice with the state if the work stoppage continues — especially if it expands. The union's walkout has an impact far beyond just the three targeted plants – Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Assembly in Wayne, Stellantis' Toledo Assembly Complex just across the Ohio border and General Motors' Wentzville Assembly plant near St. Louis.

Businesses up and down the supply chain are trying to figure out how to weather the disruption, including bracing for layoffs. Larger suppliers have forecasted potential tens of millions of dollars lost due to the strike, though the smaller suppliers are the ones more at risk of financial ruin.

U.S. Steel is reportedly idling a furnace at its Granite City, Ill., steel plant near St. Louis as part of its strike "risk mitigation" strategy. St. Louis news station KSDK reported, however, that the local United Steelworkers union has cast doubt on the company's claim that the move is due to the UAW strike.

John Irwin contributed to this report.